WHERE’S JAIPAL? ‘GURU’ STILL OUT OF REACH
CHANDIGARH: Even as the Punjab police claim success in arresting or killing a number of gangsters over the past year, the man considered the guru of these criminals, Jaipal Singh Bhullar, remains at large. Among his understudies were Vicky Gounder and Prema Lahoria, both of whom were killed recently, but Jaipal is in hiding ever since he allegedly killed rival gangster-cum-politician Jaswinder Singh Rocky on April 30, 2016, in Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh.
Police officials, admitted, refusing to be named, that Jaipal has been “secretly” moving in Punjab, “but has not been directly taking part in criminal activity in the past two years”. “Even as he continues to enjoy the status of a king among all gangsters who are left in Punjab, he has restricted his direct involvement. He still has a very strong network in the world of gangs, though,” an officer from the organised crime control unit (OCCU) told HT. Officials of the OCCU, a part of the intelligence wing of the police, claim to have information about Jaipal’s activities in South India, especially Karnataka.
“A few months back, he also met some ‘A-category’ gangsters, including Harry Chatha and Gopi Ghanshampuria,” another official said, “He was in close touch with Gounder and Lahoria, who helped him in killing Rocky.”
Son of a former policeman from Ferozepur, Jaipal once was a national-level hammer thrower. He is wanted in more than 15 cases of murder and robberies, the latter considered his claim to fame. After killing Rocky in Parwanoo, he purportedly declared it on Facebook. However, his latest photo that the police have is seven years old.
Though many Facebook profiles are active in his name, OCCU officials say he hardly accessed any social media platform after the post about Rocky’s murder, say investigators. That post concluded with: “The game has just started. Just wait and watch.”